Our team brings a wide range of experience with all aspects of high stakes auctions to the domain market, allowing us to provide a secure, transparent, fair, and efficient auction system for resolving string contention for new gTLDs. Our independence and separation from the domain name market allows us to maintain an impartial position as a market facilitator.

Auction Design Team

The Applicant Auction was designed by auction theorist and Professor of Economics Peter Cramton - based on his two decades of experience designing and implementing high stakes auctions in a variety of industries. His academic work on how to dissolve a partnership efficiently is directly applicable to the problem of resolving string contention for ICANN's new gTLD process.

Together with Pat Sujarittanonta and Ulrich Gall he conducted experiments to measure the real-world outcome of two seperate designs. Based on theoretical results, the experiment outcome, and input from participants in three workshops held in Toronto, Los Angeles, and Beijing, the ascending clock auction was chosen.

Software Development Team

The team that developed the auction software has over 12 years of experience with designing and implementing web-based high-stakes auction software. Their software has been used with dozens of clients for auctions with revenues of over $30B, for goods ranging from electrify and gas to radio spectrum, and mining products.